Short answer: almost certainly yes. If a towbar-mounted bike rack covers any part of your rear number plate, the law says you need an official supplementary plate on the back of the rack. This page explains the rule, what counts as a legal plate, how to get one, and the quickest way to sort the whole thing in one order.
We are not lawyers. This is a plain-English summary of the rules as we understand them. Always check the NZTA website for the current wording.
What the rule actually says
It is illegal to drive a vehicle in New Zealand with a number plate that is wholly or partially obscured. A bike rack on the towbar almost always sits in front of the plate, and once bikes are loaded the plate is gone entirely. That is an offence every time you drive, whether or not you get stopped.
The penalty for operating a vehicle with obscured or hard-to-read plates is up to 25 demerit points per offence plus a fine. Two stops on one trip can put you within reach of a licence suspension.
What counts as a supplementary plate
Only an official supplementary plate issued through Licensys, the authorised New Zealand number plate supplier, is legal. It carries the same registration number as your vehicle's plates and is supplied at 300 mm by 114 mm, a different size from a standard plate.
What is not legal:
- A number written on cardboard, tape or a whiteboard.
- A homemade or printed plate, however neat.
- Your spare front plate zip-tied to the rack.
- A legal plate hung loosely from a strap so it swings or flips.
The plate must be fixed to a hard, flat surface, and it must be illuminated when you drive at night. That last point catches a lot of people out: a plate strapped to the bikes with no light on it does not meet the rule after dark.
Do I also need lights?
Usually, yes. The same rack that hides your plate normally hides some of your tail lights, brake lights or indicators too. Those must be clearly visible from at least 200 metres in clear weather. If a bike rack or the bikes cover any of them, you need an additional light board. We cover that in detail in Bike rack covering your lights? What NZTA requires.
In practice a towbar rack means two things to fix: the plate and the lights. A bike rack light board solves both, because it gives you a flat, lit surface for the plate and a full set of rear lights that plug into the towbar socket.
How to get a supplementary plate
- Apply online at consumer.licensys.co.nz. You will need your registration number, your driver licence number and date of birth, and the vehicle make and model.
- The applicant must be the registered owner of the vehicle, and the vehicle must be currently registered and licensed.
- Licensys manufactures the plate and posts it to you.
- Bolt it to a hard, flat, lit surface on the back of the rack.
The one-click way
If you would rather not juggle two orders and a drill, the Safelite Panel V2 with Supplementary Plate does the lot. Fill in the plate form on the product page, place one order, and we lodge the Licensys application for you. When the plate arrives we bolt it to the panel, check the lights, and ship you a finished, road-legal unit. It straps to the rack with four bungee cords and plugs straight into the standard 7-pin towbar socket.
Already have a plate? The Safelite Panel V2 on its own has the mounting holes pre-drilled to suit the Licensys plate size.
Quick checklist before you drive
- Official Licensys supplementary plate, same number as your car.
- Fixed flat, not hanging or swinging.
- Lit at night.
- Tail lights, brake lights and indicators visible from 200 metres.
- Nothing on the rack blocking any of the above.
Designed and made in New Zealand, $12.50 overnight courier NZ-wide, two-year warranty.